Did you know that Newberry was once the baby diaper capital of the world, with its Oakland cotton mill producing 98 million Curity diapers a year?
Or that the first fully steam-powered cotton mill in the county was Newberry’s West End Mill, built in 1885?
Or that Al Shealy, the “Babe Ruth of College Baseball,” played for Newberry mill teams and Newberry College before joining the actual Babe Ruth on the roster of the 1928 World Series champion New York Yankees?
Mill Life and Memories
Newberry Mill opened in 1885, followed by Mollohon and Glenn Lowry/Whitmire in 1902 and Oakland Mill in 1912.
They were each self-sustaining villages, with their own stores, neighborhoods, chuches and recreational facilities.
Some items are from the museum’s permanent collection – others donated by area residents with personal or family ties to the mills.
I also met a gentleman who contributed photos and other materials. He pointed to a grainy, black-and-white picture of his great-grandmother with her co-workers in the Newberry Mills weave room.
Billy O’Dell, Ralph Rowe and John Buzhardt
The Major Leagues used the mill leagues as an unofficial farm system. Some of the best players declined professional ball and stayed home because they could make more money playing for the mill.
One local hero was Al Shealy, who rose from the sandlots of Chapin to become the Babe Ruth of Newberry College. In 1923, he was pitching for Mollohon Manufacturing Company. Five years later he was playing for the World Series champion New York Yankees. He later came home and starred for Newberry Cotton Mills from 1934-36.
Other Newberry stars who who went to the big time were Billy O’Dell, Ralph Rowe, Micky Livingston, Johnny Wertz, John Buzhardt and Billy Riehl.
Answering the Call
In World War II, with an urgent need for fabric and uniforms, the Glenn Lowry plant ramped up production to crank out “Army twill, poplin for field jackets, material for sleeping bags and cloth for boats and balloons.”
In recognition of its efforts, the mill in 1943 received the Army-Navy “E” Award of Excellence.
Later, another conflict rages in the jungles of Vietnam, Glenn Lowry supplied 3 million yards of Nylon-Oxford cloth for Army raincoats. This won the plant a special commendation in 1967 from the Defense Supply Agency.
The End of an Era
Changes in business and agriculture brought an end to textile dominance in Newberry County and the southeast.
West End succumbed in the early 1980s. The only physical building still standing is Oakland Mills, which was later renovated to become office space, apartments and Newberry College dorm rooms.
A poignant reminder is a 1983 poster advertising a Public Auction Sale for West End.
But my memory prefers a happier artifact: a red ribbon from 1914 given to guests who attended church at Newberry Cotton Mills – a time when business was booming, workplace was community and visitors were not just welcomed but celebrated.